25Aug16

A landmark human rights trial concluded Thursday in an Argentine federal
court with the convictions of 38 former military officials for their roles in
kidnapping, torturing and killing several hundred victims during a period of
military dictatorship four decades ago.

Twenty-eight of the defendants, including a former general, were sentenced
to life in prison, and 10 others received sentences of between two and a half
and 21 years. Five defendants were acquitted.

Thousands of people who had gathered outside the packed courthouse in
Córdoba, Argentina's second-biggest city, celebrated the convictions, holding
aloft sepia-toned images of the victims.

The trial grouped together about 20 cases from torture centers on Córdoba,
where the atrocities took place. The most infamous one was known as La
Perla. The combined cases were an important part of broader efforts to
expedite the laborious task of prosecutors and human rights organizations
working to bring to justice brutal crimes committed by the 1976-83 military
dictatorship.

In neighboring countries, efforts to bring South America's dictatorship-era
crimes before the courts have faltered. But over the past decade, Argentina
has been viewed by human rights groups as a beacon of progress, with scores
of trials in which more than 600 people have been convicted so far.

The country has even pursued justice beyond its borders with a trial that
concluded this year.

Thursday's verdict was widely anticipated because the trial was one of the
most extensive, involving 716 victims and testimony from hundreds of
witnesses over nearly four years. It was also groundbreaking, prosecutors
said, because it was the first time they had progressed in Córdoba with cases
involving death squads that operated before the military took power in the
1976 coup. In other corners of Argentina, cases dealing with crimes
committed before the coup had been tried.

While human rights defenders have urged the courts to accelerate trials,
several defendants died during the process. One committed suicide.

One case that stood out involved Sonia Torres, 86, whose grandchild was
stolen by former military officials after her daughter was kidnapped and gave
birth in captivity. "Half of my task is completed," she told the local news
media after the trial, referring to the convictions. "Now, I have to find my
grandchild."

An estimated 500 babies born in captivity or kidnapped with their parents
were raised by families close to the military. A prominent human rights
organization has so far helped 120 of those people, now adults, to discover
their true identity, reuniting them with their biological relatives.

Luciano Benjamín Menéndez, 89, a former army general who is already
serving life sentences for human rights violations, was convicted in the case
related to Ms. Torres and of scores of other crimes. Other high-profile
defendants included Héctor Pedro Vergez, 73, a former paramilitary
commander who was also previously convicted, and Ernesto Guillermo
Barreiro, 68, a former lieutenant. All three men were given life sentences.

Another so-called megatrial like the one concluded Thursday in Córdoba is
continuing in Buenos Aires and includes a similar number of victims and
defendants.

Human rights organizations estimate that 30,000 guerrillas and people said to
have links to leftist groups or ideologies were killed or "disappeared" —
kidnapped and murdered without their whereabouts ever being revealed — by
the dictatorship. Others say that the number is lower.

Because of recent ambiguous comments by Argentine officials, worries persist
among some Argentines that the new government of President Mauricio Macri
will not vigorously support the judiciary's investigation and prosecution of the
dictatorship-era crimes. Mr. Macri has previously sought to allay those
concerns.

[Source: By Jonathan Gilbert, International New York Times, Bs As, 25Aug16]

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